Why hobbies are important for mums


hobbies are important
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To me, being a mother is one the most incredible things that you can ever do with your life. However, it’s also one of the most challenging particularly when it’s combined with a career or work-from-home business.

This began to weigh on my mind recently, after I read a report which said that the biomarkers for chronic stress are around 40% higher in women who are bringing up two children while also working full-time.

This got me thinking about the importance of hobbies for mums, regardless of how they split their time between raising children working and keeping the domestic scene together. But why is it important to take time out from being ‘mum’, and how can you actually achieve this?

Why hobbies are important for mums

As I’ve already said, raising children can be a challenging and stressful endeavour even at the best of times, particularly when you combine this with a full-time (or even part-time) working schedule.

In this respect, developing one or a number of manageable hobbies can play a crucial role in helping you to manage this stress, primarily by providing a much needed break both from work and the overwhelming sense of responsibility that you feel on a daily basis.

The latter point is important, as caring for a child can be physically and mentally draining and you need to find mechanisms that enable you to cope with this strain.

This also taps into the concept of positive psychology, which is a relatively new phenomenon that explores the role that pleasure pays in helping us to relax and live in the moment (at least in the short-term!).

hobbies are important
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So, by finding a hobby that you love and are passionate about, you can bring some much needed joy to your life and take a break from the challenges of motherhood and work.

Depending on the hobby in question, this can also provide a social outlet that helps you to connect with others and forge brand new friendships. Whether you go golfing or join a creative writing group, this can offer a genuine release and another way of dealing with your internalised stress.

How to find hobbies that work for you

With this in mind, the question that remains is how do you find hobbies that work positively for you?

As I said earlier, the key is to focus on things that you love and are passionate about, as this will optimise your sense of enjoyment and the level of relaxation afforded by the hobby in question.

So, try to take the time to consider the things that you love to do and the ideal ways of spending your free time, before listing these to provide you with a viable plan of action!

For me, personally, I love music and so I try to carve in some time when I can to play music – whether that be sitting down at the piano or pulling out my ukulele. But this will look different for everyone.

hobbies are important
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The next step is to bring your hobbies to life in the most practical and affordable ways possible, and this involves ensuring that you have the right hardware to achieve this aim.

For example, even if you want to complete simple jigsaws or explore the fascinating world of arts and craft, you’ll need to buy the type of tray table sold by Cox and Cox. You may even want to purchase an occasional table for this purpose, while this can also be used to enjoy similar hobbies with your kids as they grow older!

Although sometimes it feels like we barely have time to sit on the toilet in piece, forging that time out to do something for ourselves as mums is actually crucial to our well-being.

Do you feel that hobbies are important for mums? Do you have any hobbies and what tips would you share of things to try and how to make time for them?

One comment

  1. Hobbies are extremely important one of the most powerfu and fun ways to relax, reduce anxiety and stress. If only more people included hobbies in their daily routine we would all be a lot happier

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